Community Connection
Issue 78
by the numbers
Report to Taxpayers
20 13
Police Department
16,051 calls for service 2432 reports written 760 arrests 3759 vehicle stops 1017 parking infractions issued 206 accidents investigated 150+ 5th graders graduating DARE 131 accreditation standards achieved 106 impaired drivers arrested
AAcity’ s upgraded bond raiting
Administrative Services
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$20,000 health care savings by earning wellcity award $30,000 saved building new website with open-source software 0 audit findings 11,147 times e-news read 197,500 visits to city website Web visits up lowest city 828,472 webpages viewed property tax 42,898 visits to metro website rate in WA 104,397 metro webpages viewed from 2012
2nd
22%
Public Works 64 miles of water pipeline 5 water storage tanks 4 springs, 3 wells 54 miles of sewer pipeline 15 pump stations 90 miles of stormwater pipeline 3080 stormwater catch basins 41 city-maintained storm facilities
Community Development
$6,602,283 collected for permits 224 permits issued 4-6 weeks average turnaround for permits $93,844,078 value of projects permitted
Municipal Court
2,981 court filings 991 infraction hearings 1967 criminal hearings 1 jury trial
court filings up
7%
from 2012
56.7 miles of road 64.2 miles of sidewalk 10 traffic signals 40+ acres of parks 9 miles of trail 25 acres of cemetery 16 miles of fish-bearing streams 980 manholes
Visits to Metro website up
5100 from 2012
Metro Animal Services
2,493 calls for service 10,113 human visitors 11,983 phone calls 1547 incoming animals 575 pets adopted to new families 313 lost pets returned to owners 82 volunteers provided 5,254 hours valued at $119,218.25 More 2013 Highlights on page 3
City of Sumner Newsletter
Spring 2014
The “Art” of Caring
Police Chaplain Art Sphar is retiring this spring, and the lucky people who have not been victims of crime may not realize the important role chaplains hold for a police department. Years ago, Chief Ron Hyland asked Sphar to help out. He had no budget and no precedence, and probably neither of them knew what an important program they were creating for Sumner. Chaplains are vital to helping citizens and officers. They come out in the middle of the night to sit with a mother who just learned her child was killed. They help call family members to gently break the news that someone they love has been seriously hurt. They listen to kids who are upset when a fellow student or teacher passes away. They are even a resource to officers who have to work in crime scenes involving the things that few, thankfully, understand or even want to know. Sphar, a Sumner resident, is a Master Certified Chaplain with the International Conference of Police Chaplains and received the Ed Stelle award, the highest award given to a police chaplain. He deserves a long overdue retirement, and Bob Ihler will be taking on the police chaplain role. The City will formally thank Sphar at the April 21 City Council meeting. Retiring Chaplain Art Sphar
Sumner YMCA Progress The Gordon Family YMCA in Sumner is breaking ground this spring and heading toward its 2015 opening. New renderings (below) show more details about how the building will look on the inside and out. Located at 160th and 64th on Sumner’s east side, the facility will include over 110,000 square feet with two pools, an arts center, a track, and much more. Regardless of membership, all children in Sumner will learn to swim here, and teens can enjoy the safe Teen Late Night free of charge on weekends. If you’d like to tour the site and learn more about the project, join a site tour, offered April 28, 1-5 pm, or learn more about the YMCA at www.ymcapkc.org.